Tag: home cooking (Page 2 of 15)

When Leslie, a third-generation beef producer and owner of Farmer Girl Meats asked if I wanted to partner on a recipe post, I gladly said “Yes.”

Farmer Girl Meats offers a delivery service for Kansas and Missouri pasture-raised meats including beef, chicken, pork, and turkey. Or, if you live near her farm in Warrenton, MO, you can also pick-up your order. Leslie offered to send me two pounds of ground beef from her family’s farm where their cows feed on native prairie grasses. Meat delivery to St. Louis costs $5 per order, or $25 per year, unlimited. She let me try it out for free. Learn more about delivery here.

I have always loved doughnuts. In fact, I even work at a specialty doughnut shop. The owner typically makes fried cake and yeast donuts, but also bakes these little, gluten-free donuts on Fridays. I’ve never tried one because they’re in such high demand and limited quantities; I want the people who actually need them to have them. What I have noticed is that they are light in texture and fluffy. I began to assume baked donuts were all just so.

Baked donuts enticed me at work while baked doughnut recipes filled my social media feeds. Finally, I bought a doughnut pan for myself. It only cost about $7 on Amazon. When the package arrived, I ripped open the box with zeal and admired my new pan. I hugged the pan and reassured it that we’d have a happy life together.

Growing-up, I looked forward to our family’s Easter dinner because of ham. Partly because of that cheesy potato hot dish topped with crushed corn flakes, but mostly because of ham. The leftovers were the best.

The good thing about preparing a ham is that it’s really, really easy. It’s already cooked, so all you have to do is heat it through and add some sauce. Our family was divided over raisin sauce. Half loved it and the other half hated it, reaching for the mustard instead. My favorite glaze combines the best of both worlds: Sweet fruit jam and mustard.

Ham ramblings aside, here’s a guide to all of my recipes that include ham. You’ll find my first adventure cooking a giant ham to ideas for using up your leftovers.

You could pay $30 at a restaurant for a steam pot meal that includes a cluster of snow crab legs and lots of other things that aren’t snow crab legs, or enjoy them at home for far less.

This month, Jake requested crab legs for his birthday. The thought of preparing crab legs at home had always intimidated me, so I never attempted it, even though friends claimed it was really easy. Over the years, I’ve asked people how to prepare crab legs at home. Some suggested steaming. Another friend her mom bakes them in the oven. After reading through this blog post by the Cooking Fishmonger listing six ways to cook crab legs at home, I felt brave enough to just go for it. I love how the post ends with the advice: “Some common sense will help in cooking your snow crab.”

Ordering crab at restaurants is a pricey treat. Sometimes the crab hasn’t tasted so fresh and other times the shells are really soggy. Plus, the amount of crab you actually receive is small. The seafood we’ve bought from our local fishmonger Bob’s has always tasted fresh. All they sell is seafood, so I figure they take extra care to store it and ensure its freshness. Plus, their employees are happy to answer questions about cooking the seafood or storing it in one’s fridge and pack everyone’s order on a big bag of ice with a fresh lemon. I bought two bags (a little over two pounds total) of frozen, pre-cooked snow crab legs for $12 per pound. Frozen crab legs are usually available at most grocery stores and bulk stores like Costco. I see advertisements for crab leg sales from time to time.

At home, I let the frozen crab sit in my refrigerator until dinner time. Then, I cooked (or reheated) the legs by throwing them into a pot semi-filled with boiling water until warmed through. I gave each cluster a gentle shake to eliminate excess water and tossed them with lots of Old Bay seasoning. It was that simple.

For $26, we both enjoyed a snow crab leg feast with more clusters than we’d ever been served at a restaurant. I found inexpensive crab crackers and pick sets at my local Asian market. Next time I will take my friend Tracy’s suggestion to steam crab legs with beer and fresh lemon. “Why didn’t I try this before?” I wondered.

Have you ever steamed crab legs at home? I’d love to hear about the most recent, new food you tried preparing at home.